Six Friends  Part 2
by terrycotta50
Summary: Adam, Lawrence, Amanda, Lynn, John and Zep have found love and friendship with each other and now they face the reality of their pasts, good and bad, together. AU and Slash Filled. Adam/Lawrence, Amanda/Lynn, and John/Zep.


**A/N: **This has been a _long_ time coming but here it is. This is a continuation of the story Six Friends which I wrote a few years ago. It is still mainly based in Saw 3 so most of the story in Saw 4 and after are not relevant here. This a continuing story which I'll update periodically. Enjoy!

**Chapter 1 - Surgery**

"So, what do you guys think about this one?"

Adam pointed to a small silver band in the display. Zep shook his head. "It's too simple."

"It needs to have a jewel on it." Amanda turned to the display case behind her. The selection of rings were separated by birth stone and varied from simple to decorative. "These are perfect. What's his birthstone?"

Adam shrugged, "I have no clue. Zep, do you know?"

"Why would I know? He's your boyfriend." Zep looked at another ring. "Forget the birthstone. Engagement rings should have diamonds. The ones over here are the best."

Amanda laughed, "You don't know Lawrence's birth stone and your going to marry him?"

"Oh, so you know Lynn's birthstone?"

"Ruby. We were born in the same month."

"Well that's great for you but I think Larry is more of a traditionalist. He'll probably prefer a simple gold or silver band."

"If that's all you think he wants." Zep shrugged. "I guess that's what matters."

Adam looked back at the case of rings. Even if he knew what ring Lawrence would want money was still an issue. He had saved the money from the interviews he did about being trapped in the bathroom but he was using it for rent. Being a freelance photographer wasn't exactly a high paying job but he loved Lawrence enough to make an exception.

The memory of being trapped in the bathroom with Lawrence haunted Adam to no end. He had nightmares about waking up in the bathtub again but being unable to even get out. He feared opening the closet door to his apartment thinking that someone would be hiding there. John's vague reasoning as to why he was captured him scared Adam the most. He didn't understand what he did wrong just that he did something wrong and even if he made amends with John he didn't trust him just yet.

After the unsuccessful trip to the jewelry store Zep and Amanda returned to the condo Zep shared with John. The condo was originally a rental John and Jill owned together but after the divorce John moved in there full time. When they first moved in it was in failing condition because John had been hiding in so long. Although the lack of care made it no better than the factories John lived in for the past year. John had learned to tolerate it but when Zep moved in the condo was restored to immaculate condition. The walls were repainted the furniture was replaced and one of the first things to go was a picture of Jill sitting on the bedroom nightstand.

The only thing that couldn't be fixed was John. The elderly man's condition had deteriorated so much he was completely bedridden. John was pale and skinny. His hair was starting to fall out so he had shaved his head again. He was often asleep but woke in the mornings when his headaches were bad. Mentally, he wasn't the same Jigsaw Killer he was months ago. He may have been able to engineer contraptions like the Rack but now he was having trouble remembering and moving. Even worse he was starting to lose the ability to speak. Zep walked into the bedroom and tried to smile at John but always found it hard to do so when he saw him so sick. "How are you today, honey?"

John sat up and smiled weakly. In his fading, raspy voice he mumbled, "Good."

Zep kissed John and rubbed his head. "Is your headache any better?"

"No."

"Amanda's here. Do you want to talk to her, John?" John nodded his head silently. "I'll get her for you." Zep left the room briefly and returned with Amanda.

Like Zep, Amanda had a hard time accepting John's illness but she was more adjusted to seeing him sick than Zep and often came over to help take care of him. Amanda stood next to John's bed. "Hi, John." She gave John a hugged and he smiled. "How are feeling today?"

John looked at Zep. He took a breath and asked, "Zep, can you get...me water...please?" Zep quickly stepped out. After Zep left John whispered to Amanda, "Not good. Don't tell Zep."

"He knows your sick, John. Don't hide anything from him."

"I don't want him to worry." John took another breath, "I'm getting worse. Fast. I don't think I'm going to..."

Amanda put her finger over his lips to silence him. "John, I know what you are going to say so don't finish that sentence. I can take you to a doctor. They can fix you."

"Amanda, there's nothing they can do."

Amanda fought back tears. "You don't know that, okay? You don't know that. Dr. Gordon can diagnose you and Lynn can fix you, okay? She did once."

Zep returned with the glass of water. "Here you go John. What were you two talking about?"

"I want John to go to the doctor. He's not getting any better."

"Amanda!" John yelled then broke into a coughing fit. Zep rushed over to the bed with the glass of the water and put the straw in John's mouth. "I don't have to go to the doctor."

"I think it would be a good idea, John. Lawrence started work again and he can give you a second diagnosis. Maybe he can at least find a medicine you can take or something so you won't hurt as much."

"If it will make you happy, Zep." John took another sip of water. "Amanda, how's Lynn?"

"She's fine, I think."

Zep shook his head. "You two are fighting again, aren't you?"

"We're not fighting. I just don't see her that much." Amanda pulled a chair next to the bed and sat down. "I spent my time here taking care of John until you get home from work and by then Lynn is out the door going to visit her daughter. She's there from the time Corbett gets home from school until she goes to bed. I don't see her until nine and starting today she's starting work again so now I won't see her at night either."

"I'm amazed you're still together." John smiled. "Actually I'm amazed that you got together to begin with. You two were about to kill each other a few months ago."

"When she's not being stubborn, she's easy to get along with." Amanda laughed, "Of course she's always a little stubborn. I'll leave you two to yourselves. Maybe I'll get a minute alone with Lynn before she heads off to Jeff's. Zep, don't hurt John. Bye."

The staff of Angel of Mercy Hospital were abuzz with the return of Drs. Lawrence Gordon and Lynn Denlon. Prior to their captures, Lawrence and Lynn were two of the hospital's most talented doctors. Lawrence was the head of the department and Lynn was nominated several times to be chief of surgery. The revelations of the affairs that led them to be captured by Jigsaw were barely scratches on their reputations as doctors. What caught their co-workers' eyes were the impromptu surgeries they performed under pressure. Lawrence, not being a skilled surgeon, surprised his colleagues with the careful amputation of his foot. Questions came from everyone about how he did it, how he handled the pain and how he got the courage to remove his own foot without a second thought. Lawrence found the questions easy to answer at first; he did it for his family. However the dissolution of his marriage to Alison and subsequent relationship with Adam started to complicate the answer.

Lynn, who was expected to perform risky surgeries in stressful situations, redeemed herself with the craniectomy she performed on John. The team of nurses and doctors who started to doubt if Lynn was able to perform the way she used to were reassured she had not changed. But Lynn was anything but reassured her emergency work. She couldn't shake the feeling of the shotgun collar from her shoulders. While she was held captive the collar reminded her that if her patient died she would too, she took that fear to work everyday. Even with the patients that just couldn't be saved she felt the pressure to keep trying and winced in fear when the monitors flat-lined. Although her colleagues were more confident in her Lynn was more unsure of herself.

When Lynn returned to work in the emergency room it was the same as it had always been. Overflowing patients some were severely injured, other suffering minor wounds and a small majority were there for trivial matters. She walked around the area of beds looking for a case. A teenager sat on one bed, his arm had a rough abrasion on it. A doctor was already helping so she looked further. A team of doctors were diagnosing a man with chest pains. Lynn could see immediately it was a heart attack and offered her opinion to the doctors who took to caring for him without her. The rest of the patients had a doctor or two on hand already. Lynn didn't want to wait around for a small case and and decided to visit Lawrence.

Lawrence was on the way out of his new office when Lynn stopped by. "Good evening, Lynn. Have a seat. How's your first night back?"

"It's been rather slow actually. How about you?"

"Well, I haven't had any appointments. Most of my patients have either found new doctors or passed on. I was trying to find John's file because Zep made an appointment for him but some how it went missing."

"Amanda took them." Lynn remembered that Amanda had given her the files but had no idea what happened to them after that. "I used them for John's surgery but I couldn't find them afterward. Why'd Zep make John an appointment?"

Lawrence limped to his desk and flipped through his appointment book. "Zep said John's motor skills are very limited and his aphasia is worsening to the point where he can't speak for periods of time. I don't know much we can do to save him at this point."

"When I met him his time was limited as it is. I'm surprised he has lived as long as he has. It's almost unheard of among patients with his prognosis." Lynn sighed. "You know Amanda's going to be there. She's either going to demand you to save him or break down into tears. Trust me, I've seen her do both."

"Zep's not going to be easier to handle. Ever since he started to date John he hasn't been the same quiet Zep I'm used to. He's starting to demand the respect he deserves. Even if that means yelling at other doctors."

"Being a doctor isn't an easy job." Lynn looked at a picture on Lawrence's desk of him and his daughter. Next to it was a picture of him and Adam hugging. They looked as happy as they had ever been. "How's Adam been? You haven't said anything about him."

Lawrence smiled. "He's been great. I was thinking about asking him to move in with me but he doesn't seem ready for that kind of a commitment. If he moves in he'll be seeing and caring for Diana. I mean I've introduced him to Diana and they liked each other but he didn't seem to eager to be a parent to a thirteen year old."

"At least you told her. I haven't told Corbett about Amanda. Well, she knows about Amanda but not the details about it. She's too young."

"I understand."

Lynn got up from her chair and shook Lawrence's hand. " I should get back to work. I'm sure something's going on by now. When's your appointment with John?"

"Tomorrow."

"Good luck."

"Thanks, I'll need it."

The next day, John, Amanda and Zep arrived in the waiting room outside Lawrence's office. John had to be taken in by a wheelchair despite is instance to walk. He just didn't have the energy to walk. After a short wait they were called in the office.

Zep opened the door to the office as Amanda wheeled John in. Lawrence looked up from the large file on his desk. The last time he saw John in his office about three years ago he told him he was terminally ill. Now he saw the man mere inches from death. He knew Zep and Amanda wanted answers but he couldn't give them the ones they wanted. "Good morning. Mr. Kramer, Miss Young, Mr. Hindle. I know that you want me to come up with some method, some treatment, some cure for John and as a friend I do want that too but as doctor I can't say there is much I can do."

"There isn't anything? Chemotherapy? Radiation? Surgery?" Zep begged.

"As you know John was diagnosed with a glioblastoma multiforme. It is the most aggressive brain tumor a person can be diagnosed with and has a very low survival rate. The chance of survival with a glioblastoma past three years is rare even in patients with the best outlook. John was already in poor health when I first diagnosed him. We've tried chemotherapy and radiation neither of which worked. The first step is normally surgery but the car accident put John in an inoperable condition. I'm sorry, John, there's nothing we can do aside from-"

"- Hope for the best?" Zep finished, "Lawrence, I've heard you say that to so many people. That's just your way of saying give up, he's going to die. You're treating him like a dog, like if he's gone no one will miss him. I'll tell you now I'll miss him. He's not a dog he's a man. There has to be another option."

"What do you suggest, Zep?"

"You could be wrong."

"There's a small margin of error but he present all the symptoms of a glioblastoma."

"What will you do if you're wrong?" Amanda asked. She looked at John who was looking at the doctor silently "Could you fix him?"

The doctor sighed. "It's complicated. To re-diagnose him we would have to do bloodwork, a physical and MRIs. Then treatment of any tumor requires surgery, radiation and chemo. John is very weak and any amount of treatment could cause more damage than good. And as I said before treatment before didn't work I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't work again. However if you're willing to take that chance, I would be more than happy to try. John gave me a second chance and I want him to have the same opportunity."

"Thank you, doctor."

"You're welcome and please call me Lawrence, Zep."

The next weeks were all dedicated to John's survival. The five former victims united to see John through the ordeal keeping in mind how he changed their lives. Amanda and Adam alternated in taking care of John while Zep worked. Lynn signed on to assist in any procedures John may need while Lawrence scrutinized all tests they ran. After the first tests proved nothing a biopsy showed the supposed glioblastoma was in fact a mass of metastasized cancer tumors that had spread inside John's body. As soon as they discovered the extent of the tumors treatment began. John was started on radiation treatment and chemotherapy. After a near month of treatment John was allowed to proceed with surgery in order to beat the cancer as soon as possible.

With Lynn and Lawrence in surgery with John, Zep, Adam and Amanda were left to convene in the waiting room. Zep paced around the room. Amanda stood near the door to the operating suites. Adam looked through the pile of months-old magazines. They were all filled with headlines about John. The oldest one read, "Jigsaw Killer May Have A Protege." It was from when Eric Matthews went missing and offered and questioned how John was able to create so many contraptions. The newest one stated, "Should We Forgive the Jigsaw Killer?" Shortly after John surrendered himself he held a press conference describing his thoughts and his plans. His lawyer offered forgiveness on John's behalf stating his illness as the cause for his behavior. A sidebar had an article written by a doctor confirming John's behavior could have been attributed to his brain tumors. Adam looked at Zep. "Do you think John will be different when he recovers? I mean the article said he acted different because of the cancer. What if he's not the same John?"

Zep stopped. "I don't know. I never knew him when he healthy. What if he is different? What if he never loved me and he goes back to Jill? I don't want to think about it. I just want him to survive."

"What about you, Amanda? You think he's going to be different?"

Amanda chuckled. "He might be meaner. I used to frequent Jill's clinic as part of my after prison sentence. I missed four days then came back. It was the first time I met John. Jill just told me not to miss another day but John in his usual way of handling thing took me aside and scolded me for not taking my recovery seriously. I thought why is this old man yelling at me and I didn't want to go back after that but it turns out he did that with a lot of patients. He'd give them an earful about taking recovery seriously, the will to survive and if this was the last day of their lives would they want to survive. John's thoughts about survival were more verbal. I think he's going to be the same John we know and love but he won't be building tests for people anymore."

Hours passed before the surgery was complete. Adam and Amanda fell asleep on the couch but Zep stayed up waiting. How could he sleep when the man he loved was having surgery? He remembered when he first met John in the hospital years ago. John was recovering from the car accident and undergoing psychological treatment. He was talked about by the staff like a legend. Zep always listened to the stories in wonder trying to figure out why a man with a a beautiful wife who cherished him and a successful business drive himself off a cliff. Zep wanted to meet the man behind the legend but the closest he got was cleaning John's room when he wasn't there. Zep was always assigned that way to avoid scaring the patients. Anxious to learn any thing about John one day after cleaning John's room Zep grabbed John's sketch book and sat on his bed reading it.

The book was look into the mind of John. Pictures of horrific contraptions were front and center of most pages with scribblings of the purpose and function of each one. Making the book even more frighting was a short list of names in the corners under the title "Possible Subjects." He didn't know any of the people except one: Dr. Lawrence Gordon. Lawrence's name was on each list only matched by the name Cecil Adams. Another name that came up occasionally but not frequently was Amanda Young. Worried he might his name on of the lists if he got caught, Zep put the book back under the pillows. Then he looked at the stack of books on the nightstand. An unlabeled book filled with papers sat on the top of the stack. Zep's curiosity again took hold of him and he opened the book. It was a journal. The pages were filled with entries detailing the various troubles he faced day to day starting after the miscarriage that started John's downward spiral. The writing first focused on getting vengeance on Cecil and offhandedly explained the dissolution of his marriage; entries after the car accident started to question people's will to survive. Phrases like "Jill just doesn't understand, Cecil needs to feel the same pain she felt," urged Zep to put down the journal and avoid crossing John's path but charismatic words like, "I've discovered many people lack the survival instinct," pulled Zep into reading more about John. He lost track of time finishing two months of journal entries before coming to an end. Zep got off the bed straightening the sheets and left. He unknowingly passed John in the hall while trying to envision what he looked like.

Zep had fallen in love with John's intellect. He didn't have to see him to know he was an interesting person. He didn't see John in person until Dr. Gordon was explaining to his interns the extent of John's condition. John was sleeping peacefully with his sketchbook open in front of him. Zep couldn't help himself correct Lawrence when he continued to John as "the patient". Lawrence brushed him off and continued with his explanation. Zep decided, quite bravely on his part, to introduce himself after reading an entry in John's journal that said he was aware that someone was reading his journal. He stayed in the room trying to occupy himself until John came back by rereading the journal while lying on the bed. It wasn't a moment to soon when he heard voice say, "So you're the one who's been reading my journals?"

Zep looked up shocked and saw John standing over him. He was wearing a long black robe with red trim over plain hospital clothes. He was expressionless but Zep could feel John staring like he was trying to look into his very soul. He was nearly petrified by John's staring until John frowned and said, "I'm tired. Can you get off my bed, please?" Zep jumped off the bed as fast he could knocking the stack of books on the nightstand to the floor and pulling the sheets off the bed. John watched the scene with the same look of displeasure.

"I'm sorry!" Zep grabbed the books from the floor, "I'll put these back and I'll get you new sheets."

John picked the sheets from the floor. "These are fine."

"I have to get new sheets. It's policy." Zep grabbed the sheets from John and ran out of the room. He cursed himself for being so clumsy as he retrieved new sheets and returned to John's room. John was still standing in the same place as he was when Zep left and watched silently as Zep put the sheets back on the bed. "There you go. I'm sorry about all this. I just wanted to figure out who you were. Everyone talks about you, your business, your wife and I just can't figure out why you'd want to kill yourself. "

John sat on the bed. "That's not something you can figure by reading my journals. You'd have to talk to me to figure that out but not now. I have to get some sleep."

"I'll leave you alone."

"Wait, what's your name?"

Against every cell in his body telling him to leave without saying anything the shy orderly said, "Zep. Zep Hindle."

"Mr. Hindle, I'll see you tomorrow."

Zep came the next day and every day after to talk to John. He told him of the start of his business, how he met Jill and the day to day life in Jill's drug clinic. He had stories of the various addicts who had been sentenced to get care there as well as the people whom he met through parties and events. John explained how his experiences with the poor and unfortunate became key to his philosophies about the human survival instinct. He said he saw so many people who squandered their opportunities and threw away their lives that he wanted to test how they would fair in actual tests of survival. The pair became constant companions. Zep would wait until John was in his room before starting his work there and he came back again after work to talk a little longer. John never did explain why he wanted to kill himself or the meaning of the many contraptions before he left the hospital. After he left Zep didn't even hear from him again until he was captured and forced to watch over Adam and Lawrence. He thought that John had forgotten about their friendship until he spared his life by shocking Adam before he could attack allowing him time to escape.

Zep ran has fast as he could out of the bathroom before realizing he would become lost and succumb to the poison he was injected with if he went any further. He walked back to the room and saw John talking with Lawrence. After Lawrence crawled away Zep approached John demanding the antidote and an explanation. Dazed from the sedative he took, John admitted he felt killing Zep would prevent him from revealing his identity but he had a change of heart at the last minute. He had fallen in love with Zep and as long he promised to keep his identity a secret he wouldn't hurt him. They started a secret, distant affair. John would visit Zep at his apartment but kept his activities and location hidden. Their separation ended when John surrendered to police and Zep decided to move in with him.

The more Zep reminisced the more he worried about the outcome of the surgery. Mercifully the surgery finished before dawn. Lawrence and Lynn returned to the waiting room to break the news.

"Zep, the surgery was a success." Lawrence said. "We removed most of the tumors on his brain and the remaining ones were too risky to remove so John will need more radiation treatment."

Lynn added, "John will also need extensive physical therapy to restore his motor and speech skills. It will take a few months but he will be back to his fullest abilities."

"Can I see him?

"Yes. He's being taken to recovery right now. I can take you to see him if you want."

"There's no need I know where it is. Thank you. Both of you."

Zep hugged both of them and ran off to the recovery room. Lynn smiled. "He's happy. We should wake these two up and tell them news." Lynn and Lawrence woke up Amanda and Adam. Both mumbled, "What?"

"John just got out of surgery, he's going to be just fine."

Amanda sat up. "Really, Lynn? He's going to be just fine? No more cancer or anything?"

"The cancer is in remission but the brain tumors that were debilitating him are for the most part gone." Lawrence said.

"So, it's finally over? He's not going to be sick anymore. Thank God." Amanda sighed, "So can we go see him?"

"Of course. Let's go. Are you two coming?"

Lawrence nodded. "Sure. Come on, Adam."

"Wait. Not yet. We'll be right there."

Lynn and Amanda walked ahead and Lawrence sat down. "What's wrong, Adam?"

"One second." Adam started searching through his pants pockets. He was going to propose but he couldn't find the ring. He pulled out his pants pockets, looked through his shirt and even stood up and looked through the couch cushions.

"Adam, what are you looking for?"

"Well, I guess that's not the most important thing. I was going to...wait." Adam dropped to his knee then grabbed Lawrence's hand. "Larry, when we first met I never thought I would feel the way I do about you. I love you and I'm happy every day I'm with you. You make me grateful to be alive. I wanted to ask you, will you marry me?"

Lawrence's jaw dropped. "You're asking me to marry you?"

"Yeah, I had a ring but I can't find it. It's a gold band and has some diamonds on it. It's really nice but I wanted to ask you to marry me before I kept looking."

"I don't know what to say."

"Yes, would be nice."

Lawrence smiled. "Yes, I'll marry you." He pulled Adam on the couch and kissed him. "Don't worry about the ring. We can get a new one."

"Good, you'll probably have a better idea about what you want than me, Amanda or Zep."

"You brought Amanda and Zep with you to go ring shopping?"

"It's a long story."


End file.
